captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff, and welcome to this "pbs newshour" special coverage of president obama's "state of the union" address. we want you to know this program is also being livestreamed on our home page on the web. in just a few moments, the president will spell out his policy agenda for the start of his second term. he is expected tonight to focus mainly on jobs and the economy, and to highlight other domestic priorities including gun control and immigration reform, but also to touch on international challenges. here with me, as they will be throughout our coverage tonight, are syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. mark, what is different about a state of the union when it's the first one of a second term?

>> you don't have that many more to look forward to? the sand is running out of the glass. this is probably the best shot that most presidents have in their second term is that first year-and-a-half before you get into congressional elections and the lame duckness really sets in. the race to succeed him begins while he's just sitting there. so this is important. this is the teasing of the moment but the moment is left under most circumstances. obviously a crisis can extend that. but generally speaking in the natural order of things, judy, a president has a year-and-a-half to accomplish his greatest achievements in his second term. woodruff: as we watch the video live from the house chamber, members of the president's cabinet making their way in greeting senators and house members. we're waiting for the president himself to come in that door. david, if anybody thought that the partisanship that was i guess the main feature of last

year's election was going to diminish after november, that really hasn't been the case. >> did anybody actually think that? i think we've reached a point though where some of the budget fights we've had, we're not going to have a deal. we're not going to have a budget deal. we'll find stop gap measures. it does raise the possibility if you put that aside, you try to get other stuff done. some of the immigration. some of the guns. some of the economic stuff that the president will propose tonight, there's some possibility of getting that done. the challenge for me as we look at them come in, sean donovan housing and urban development there in the gray suit, arne duncan with education a lot of these people have served four years. this is not exactly a new team. he didn't clean house by any means. there are some new people, john kerry but it's a very familiar group of people. is there fresh vision there? that's one of the things we'll be able to judge tonight. >> woodruff: a good point, mark. the president is replacing about half the cabinet, about half of them have announced they're

leaving. we know some of the new names but most of them haven't taken their jobs yet. you know, there were some conversation that, you know, as david was just saying that some of these folks are exhausted from four years of partisan warfare. >> i think it is. i think it's always difficult to replace somebody who is enjoying her work or his work. for any president. this is a president that, quite frankly, is comfortable with a smaller circle of people. >> woodruff: if i can just interrupt, the gentleman in the gray hair right there in the foreground of the picture, the president's newly named white house chief of staff. he had been the deputy national security advisor. somebody the president, we were told, was very comfortable with. >> yes. and very close personally as well as professionally. and i think the comfort as well as the confidence were crucial to dennis mcdonough elevation to that position. >> he's been there four years. he's been in the white house

over at n.s.c. for four years. it's not like bringing in somebody fresh and new. he tried that with bill daily who was chief of staff a couple years ago and sort of has rejected that model. he's promoting from within. >> woodruff: and i'm just reminded that talking to dr. jill biden the wife of vice president is a teacher from sandy hook elementary school. kate lynn i believe is her name from newtown connecticut. and that reminds us of the theme of much of not only the president's remarks tonight but the guests tonight, mark. in the chamber. at least a couple of dozen of members of congress have invited either victims of gun violence or... >> or surviving family members including with the first lady. >> woodruff: we just saw michelle obama, the first lady, talking with one of those special guests. and again i'm reminded that's the mother of the 15-year-old

teenager, young woman. she performed at the president's inauguration from chicago. she went home to chicago and then was gunned down in a shooting that was said to be just a mile or so from the president's house. >> that's right. and two people were arrested yesterday. >> woodruff: and one of the points the white house has been making is that gun violence is not something distant. it touches many many families in this country. that's one of the points. >> that's a realm where i think there's some possibility of some legislation. i'm not sure it will be as ambitious as what the president proposed but some sort of background check, magazine things. so again if you bracket some of the really divisive issues, you can get small steps down at least. >> woodruff: what we're going to hear from the president tonight is he's going to make a push, we're told, to ban assault weapons and to do something about background checks, tighten up background checks, to something about gun trafficking. but i think, mark, the general consensus is that on the assault

weapons ban, there may not be the political will to get that done. >> it's a heavy lift, judy. no question about it. >> woodruff: we're watching now as members of the supreme court... we know tonight that justice and ton inscalia, the longest serving justice is staying away this evening. we have not yet spotted one other justice, samuel alito who i guess remembered a few state of the unions... >> a nice view of susan rice who was almost or at least talked about for secretary of state. she was standing about three feet away from lindsey graham and john mccain two of the people who were hardest on her for the benghazi matter. we didn't see any interchange at all. usually they studiously ignore each other. >> i did john mccain and lindsey graham hug in an almost unseemly fashion. leon panetta the out going secretary of defense. they have been two of the most critical of the nominee to be

his successor, chuck hagel. it is date night too. i want to point out that. the democratic senator from colorado two years ago proposed, judy, that members instead of just democrats sitting with democrats and republicans... this year i think he's doing it with the republican senator from alaska, that peoplec with people from the other party and across the aisle. several members have done it. i think mccain and gram seem to be a couple of them. >> they share the popcorn. woodruff: that's a tradition they started a few years ago. a a number of members picked it up. it seemed to fade. >> it was done right after the gabrielle giffords. >> woodruff: she's here tonight. i don't think we've seen her in the last few minutes but we saw her just before we went on the air. she's there with her husband mark kelly. she and her husband have become the two, i guess, you could say the most prominent faces of this new push to do something about

gun violence. they're working with the mayors against... >> exactly. and especially in view of the fact that she has the support and endorsement of the national rifle association and she was elected from arizona. so she is a total convert to the cause. >> woodruff: and her husband markelly said we both own guns. we go hunting. we believe in guns for hunting but not assault weapons. >> the white house has done a good job of not making this a cultural issue. this has turned into a values issue. they've gone out of their way to say they respect second amendment rights and show the president going skeet shooting or whatever it was, trap shooting. they've done a good job of demoralizing the issue and allowing people who might be on the fence or might not want to feel their values are under assault. >> woodruff: that is interesting because we had not seen the president with a gun even...

>> that was last august the picture was taken. look at, judy, there's a certain passivity there. there was energy in that room right now. i mean... >> woodruff: well, they're waiting. >> usually there's a milling back and forth and kind of a... >> woodruff: higher energy. people who slap each other's backs for a living. they're good at that. i agree with that. >> it looks like a painting almost. >> woodruff: i'm told the president i rit outside the door. but who knows how close he is. but in just a moment, the house sergeant of arms is going to... maybe it's about to happen in a moment. he's going to announce the president. >> watch he does. he comes down three steps, three rows. >> woodruff: paul irving. house sergeant of arms. >> puts his finger on a button. see him? he did that. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states.

( applause ) >> woodruff: so at nine minutes after 9:00 eastern time, president obama makes his way in. the official plan had been for him to come in a minute or two after. but i guess he has a prerogative of being a few minutes later than what we were told. >> he just can't stop himself. he just likes to chat and chat and chat. >> woodruff: who is, of course, the house majority leader right behind him, congressman from the state of virginia. >> separating harry reid from john boehner. >> woodruff: well, they pick a select group of the leadership of the house and senate to escort the president in. and i'm sure both of you saw today or yesterday there was an article describing the lengths to which some members of congress will go to get one of those coveted seats right there in the aisle so that the president will see them and they will be seen on national

television. >> on my twitter feed at about noon there were some reporters reporting that those seats were already getting filled up. those people have been there for nine hours. they deserve their five seconds of fame. >> they do. but in the past, speaking of the... in the past you've been able to just have a bag or some books. now security demands that you be there yourself physically. you may claim it by putting in your notebook with your name on it. now you have to physically be there because many of these members have been there for hours. and they're getting their, the moment in the sun. jean schmidt from ohio who is one of the regulars there, a republican, she lost the republican primary last year in cincinatti. she's not there and dale from michigan is retired who was a regular. >> blue is the new red judging by some of the dresses >> woodruff: and do you think the party, is that a party...

can we count on the fact that the red? well, we see former speaker and now house democratic leader minority leader nancy pelosi in blue. the president, david, looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. he's shaking hands and big smile on his face. >> he's actually been a different temper since the election. the fear of losing is gone. the vindication of winning is there. he's much more relaxed. he seems like a happier camper. >> woodruff: followed, as you said, mark, by eric cantor and jim clyburn, the congressman. he's also in the house leadership. congressman from south carolina. the only democrat in the south carolina delegation. and then behind them patrick leahy who is the president pro tempore. >> john mccain woodruff: who had less than friendly things to say about the president. we mentioned that tonight one of the themes is clearly gun...

addressing gun violence. you see some of the people there wearing the green ribbon. that is to signify what happened at newtown and the effort since then to do something to address the millions and millions of, what is it, over 100, 200 million guns in the united states, enough for every man, woman and child? so the president is greeting members of the supreme court. we started to say a minute ago that the chief justice is here. sam alito, justice alito not here. he very famously, at least we think he's not here, famously a few years ago when the president made the state of the union address and criticized the court's ruling on citizens united, the campaign finance law... >> just going over to talk to mark kerr, the senator of illinois who suffered a stroke, giving him an embrace. >> woodruff: justice alito and justice scalia.

otherwise you have the members of the supreme court, the joint chiefs of staff, the leaders of all the military branches. and the president getting closer to the front of the chamber >> and the man who beat him. the only man to beat barack obama >> woodruff: you have a good eye for the back of somebody's head. >> congressman from the south side of chicago. bobby rush makes the point of always being there >> woodruff: had a huge effect on the president politically. >> if obama had won that race he wouldn't be president. >> he wouldn't be president now. nobody as yet... maybe he would have but nobody else has moved from there. >> woodruff: so the applause continues. the president, we don't know how long the president will speak. some have guessed it at 50 minutes. maybe an hour. we have no way of knowing until we look at our watches when it's all over. but, mark, i think you're right and david, this is not... you don't sense the excitement, the electricity in the room you have

at other state of the union address >> it will build. thank you we'll see. we'll see what he can do with the crowd. he certainly demonstrated an ability over his rather meteoric career to warm up a room when given a challenge. >> woodruff: speaker john boehner. >> the high privilege. members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. ( cheers and applause ) >> thank you. thank you.

thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, fellow americans. 51 years ago john f. kennedy declared to this chamber that the constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. ( applause ) it is my task, he said, to report the state of the union. to improve it is the task of us all.

tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the american people, there is much progress to report. after a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. ( applause ) after years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs. we buy more american cars than we have in five years. and less foreign oil than we have in 20. ( applause ) our housing market is healing. our stock market is rebounding.

and consumers, patients and homeowners enjoy stronger protection than ever before. ( applause ) so together we have cleared away the rubble of crisis. we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger. ( applause ) but we gather here knowing that there are millions of americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. our economy is adding jobs, but too many people still can't find full-time employment. corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs. but for more than a decade wages

and incomes have barely budged. it is our generation's task then to reignite the true engine of america's economic growth, a rising, thriving middle class. ( applause ) it is our unfinished task to reorethe basic bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead. no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like or who you love. it is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many and not just the few. that it encourages free enter prize, rewards individual initiative and opens the doors of opportunity to every child

across this great nation. ( applause ) the american people don't expect government to solve every problem. they don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. but they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party. ( applause ) they do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can. for they know that america moves forward only when we do so together. and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all.

now, our work must begin by making some basic decisions about our budget, decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of our recovery. over the last few years both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion. mostly through spending cuts but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1% of americans. as a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances. now we need to finish the job. and the question is how? in 2011 congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn't agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year.

these sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness, they'd devastate priorities like education and energy and medical research. they would certainly slow our recovery. and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. that's why democrats, republicans, business leaders and economists have already said that these cuts, known here in washington as the sequester, are a really bad idea. now, some in congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training. medicare and social security benefits. that idea is even worse.

( applause ) yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of health care for an aging population. and those of us who care deeply about programs like medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms. otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need for our children. and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations. but we can't ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful. ( applause ) we won't grow the middle class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college on to families that are already

struggling or forcing communities to lay off more teachers and more cops and more firefighters. most americans, democrats, republicans and independents, understand that we can't just cut our way to prosperity. they know that broad-based economic growth requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction. with spending cuts and revenue. and with everybody doing their fair share. and that's the approach i offer tonight. on medica, i'm prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan simpson bowls commission. (slight applause) already, the affordable care act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs. (slight applause) and the reforms i'm proposing go even further. we'll reduce tax payor subsidies

to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. we'll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for medicare because our medical bills shouldn't be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital. they should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive. ( applause ) and i am open to additional reforms from both parties so long as they don't violate the guarantee of a secure retirement. our government shouldn't make promises we cannot keep. bute must keep the promises we've already made. ( applause ) to hit the rest of our deficit

reduction target, we should do what leaders in both parties have already suggested and save hundreds of billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions for the well off and the well connected. after all, why would we choose to make deeper cuts to education and medicare just to protect special interest tax breaks? how is that fair? why isn't it that deficit reduction is a big emergency justifying making cuts in social security benefits but not closing some loopholes? how does that promote growth? (slight applause) now is our best chance for bipartisan comprehendsive tax reform that encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit. ( applause ) we can get this done.

the american people deserve a tax code that helps small businesses spend less time filling out complicated forms and more time expanding and hiring. the tax code that ensures billionaires with high-powered accountants can't work the system and pay a lower rate than their hard-working secretaries, a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs overseas and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that are creating jobs right here in the united states of america. that's what tax reform can deliver. that's what we can do together. ( applause ) i realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy. politics will be hard for both sides. none of us will get 100% of what we want. but the alternative will cost us

jobs. hurt our economy. visit hardship on millions of hard-working americans. let's set party interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. and let's do it without the bringsmanship that stresses consumers and sres off investors. the greatest nation on earth, the greatest nation on earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufacturing cries... from one manufactured crisis to the next. we can't do it. ( applause ) let's agree, let's agree right here right now to keep the people's government open and pay our bills on time and always uphold the full faith and credit of the united states of america. ( applause )

the american people have worked too hard for too long rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another. (smattering of applause) now most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of our agenda. let's be clear. deficit duction alone is not an economic plan. (slight applause) a growing economy that creates good middle class jobs, that must be the north star that guides our efforts. ( applause ) every day we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation. how do we attract more jobs to our shores?

how do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? and how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living? a year-and-a-half ago i put forward an american jobs act that independent economists said would create more than one million new jobs. and i thank the last congress for passing some of that agenda. i urge this congress to pass the rest. (slight applause) but tonight i'll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the bunk it framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. let me repeat. nothing i'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. it is not a bigger government we need but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth. ( applause ) that's what we should be looking

for. our first priority is making america a magnet for new jobs in manufacturing. after shedding jobs for more than ten years our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. caterpillar is bringing jobs back from japan. ford is bringing jobs back from mexico. and this year apple will start making macs in america again. ( applause ) there are things we can do right now to accelerate this trend. last year we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in youngstown, ohio. a once shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the-art lab where new workers are mastering the 3d printing that has the possibility to revolutionize how

we make almost everything. there's no reason why this can't happen in other town. i'm announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing houses where businesses will partner with the department of defense and energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs, and i ask this congress to help create a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is made right here in america. we can get that done. ( applause ) now, if we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in the best ideas. every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy. every dollar. today our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to alzheimers.

they're developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs. devising new materials to make batteries ten times more powerful. now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation. now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the space race. we need to make those investments. ( applause ) today no area holds more promise than our investments in american energy. after years of talking about it, we're finally poised to control our own energy future. we produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. we have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar.

with tens of thousands of good american jobs to show for it. we produce more natural gas than ever before. and nearly everyone's energy bill is lower because of it. and over the last four years our missions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our plan have actually fallen. but for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. ( applause ) now, it's true that no single event makes a trend. but the fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. heat waves, droughts, wild fires, floods -- all are now

more frequent and more intense. we can choose to believe that super storm sandy and the most severe drought in decades and the worst wild fires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it's too late. ( applause ) now the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. i urge this congress to ghettoing, pursue a bipartisan market-based solution to climate change like the one john mccain and joe lieberman worked on together a few years ago. but if congress won't act soon to protect future generations, i will. i will direct my cabinet to come

up with executive actions we can take now and in the future to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy. and four years ago other countries dominated the clean energy market and the jobs that came with it. we've begun to change that. last year wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in america. so let's generate even more. solar energy gets cheaper by the year. let's drive down costs even further. as long as countries like china keep going all in on clean energy, so must we. in the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. we need to encourage that. that's why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits. that's got to be part of an "all of the above" plan but i also want to work with this congress

to encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and our water. in fact much of our new found energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together. so tonight i propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an energy security trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good. if a nonpartisan coalition of ceos and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. let's take their advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we put up with for far too long. i'm also issuing a new goal for america. let's cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years. ( applause ) we'll work with the states to do

it. those states were the best ideas to create jobs and more energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings. we'll receive federal support to help make that happen. america's energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair. ask any ceo where they would rather locate and hire, a country with deteriorating roads and bridges or one with high speed rail and internet. high-tech schools, self-healing power grids. the c.e.o. of siemens america that brought hundreds of johns to north carolina said if we upgrade our infrastructure they'll bring even more jobdz. that's the attitude of a lot of companies all around the world. i know you want these job-creating projects in your district. i've seen all those ribbon-cuttings. (slight laughter) so tonight i propose a "fix it

first" program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. ( applause ) and to make sure tax payers don't shoulder the whole burden i'm proposing a partnership to rebuild america that attrts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most. modern ports to move our goods. modern pipelines to withstand a storm. modern schools worthy of our children. let's prove there's no better place to do business than here in the united states of america. let's start right away. we can get this done. and part of our our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing sector. the good news is our housing

market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007. home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years. home purchases are up nearly 50%. and construction is expanding again. but even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected. too many families who never missed a payment and want to refinance are being told, no. that's holding our entire economy back. we need to fix it. right now there's a bll in this congress that would give every responsible homeowner in america the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today's rates. democrats and republicans have supported it before. so what are we waiting for? take a vote and send me that bill. ( applause )

why would we be against that? why would that be a partisan issue? helping folks refinance? right now overlapping regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first home. what's holding us back? let's streamline the process and help our economy grow. these initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, housing all these things will help entrepreneurs and small business owners expand and create new jobs. but none of it will matter unless we also equip our citizens with the skills and training to fill those jobs. ( applause ) and that has to start at the earliest possible age.

you know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. but today fewer than three in ten four-year-olds are enrolled in a high quality preschool program. most middlelassarents can't afford a few hundreds bucks a week for a private preschool. for poor kids, who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. tonight i propose working with states to make high quality preschool available to every single child in america. ( applause ) that's something we should be able to do.

every dollar we invest in high quality early childhood education can save more than $7 later on by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. in states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children, like georgia or oklahoma, studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. we know this works. so let's do what works and make sure none of our children starts the race of life already behind. let's give our kids that chance. ( applause ) let's also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on

a path to a good job. right now countries like germany focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges. those german kids are ready for a job when they graduate high school. they've been trained for the jobs that are there. now at schools like p-tech in brooklyn, a collaboration between new york public schools and city university of new york and i.b.m., students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering. we need to give every american student opportunities like this. and four years ago... ( applause ) four years ago we started race to the top, the competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards. all for about 1% of what we have spent on education each year. tonight i'm announcing a new challenge: to redesign america's

high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. and we'll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. the skills today's employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future. now even with better high schools, most young people will need some higher education. the simple fact that the more education you've got, the more likely you are to have a good job and work your way into the middle class. but today's skyrocketing costs price too many young people out of a higher education or settle them with unsustainable debt. through tax credits, grants and better loans, we've made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years. the tax payers can't keep on subsidizing higher and higher

and higher costs for higher education. colleges must do their part to keep costs down. it's our job to make sure that they do. ( applause ) so tonight i ask congress to change the higher education act so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid. ( applause ) are and tomorrow my administration will release a new college scorecard that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck. now to grow our middle class our citizens have to have access to the education and training that today's jobs require. but we also have to make sure that mercury mains a place where everyone who is willing to work, everybody who is willing to work

hard, has the chance to get ahead. our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants. and right now leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, faith communities, they all agree that the time has come to pass compressive immigration reform. now is the time to get it done. ( cheers and applause ) now is the time to get it done. really form means stronger border security, and we can build on the progress my administration has already made. putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history. and reducing illegal crossing to their lowest levels in 40 years.

really form means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship, a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty. learning english and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. ( applause ) and really form means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods and attract the highly skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy. ( cheers and applause ) in other words, we know what needs to be done. and as we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill. and i applaud their efforts.

let's get this done. send me a comprehendsive immigration reform bill in the next few months and i will sign it right away and america will be better for it. let's get it done. ( cheers and applause ) let's get it done. we can't stop there. we know our economy is stronger when our wives, our mothers, our daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace and free from the fear of domestic violence. today the senate passed the violence against women's act that joe biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago, and i now urge the house to do the same. ( applause ) good job, joe. and i ask this congress to

declare that women should earn a living equal to their efrts. and finally pass the paycheck fairness act this year. ( applause ) we know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day's work with honest wages. but today a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. even with the tax relief we put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. that's wrong. that's why since the last time this congress raised the minimum wage 19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher. tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth,

no one who works full time should have to live in poverty and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. ( applause ) we should be able to get that done. this single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. it could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank. rent or eviction. scraping by or finally getting ahead. for businesses across did the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. a whole lot of folks out there would probably need less help from the government. in fact working folks shouldn't have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while c.e.o. pay has never been higher. so here's an idea that governor romney and i actually agreed on last year. let's tie the minimum wage to the cost of living so that it

finally becomes a wage you can live on. ( applause ) tonight let's also recognize that there are communities in this country where no matter how hard you work, it is virtually impossible to get ahead. factory towns decimated from years of plants packing up. inescapable pockets of poverty, urban and rural. young adulls are still fighting for their first job. america is not a place where the chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny. that's why we need to build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class for all who are willing to climb them. let's offer incentives to companies that hire americans who got what itu'8y>sq@r that job opening but have been out of work for so long that no one will give them a chance anymore. let's put people back to work

rebuilding vacant homes in rundown neighborhoods. this year my administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns in america to get these communities back on their feet. now, we'll work with local leaders to target resources and public safety and education and housing. we'll give new tax credits to businesses that hire and invest and we'll work to strengthen families by removing the financial deterrence to marriage for low-income couples and do more to encourage fatherhood. what makes you a man isn't the ability to conceive a child. it's having the courage to raise one. ( applause ) we want to encourage that. we want to help that. stronger family. stronger community. stronger america.

it is this kind of prosperity -- broad, shared, built on a thriving middle class -- that has always been the source of our progress at home of the it's also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world. tonight we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. because of them, we can say with confidence that america will complete its mission in afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al qaeda. ( applause ) already we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. this spripg our forces will move

into a support role while afghan security forces take the lead. tonight i can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 american troops will come home from afghanistan. this drawdown will continue. by the end of next year, our war in afghanistan will be over. ( cheers and applause ) beyond 2014, america's commitment to a unified and sovereign afghanistan will endure. but the nature of our commitment will change. we're negotiating an agreement with the afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos. and counterterrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the

remnants of al qaeda and their affiliates. today the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self. ( applause ) it's true. different al qaeda affiliates and extremist groups have emerged from the arabian peninsula to africa. the threats these groups pose is evolving but to meet this threat we don't need to send tens and thousands of our sons and dauers abroad or occupy other nations. instead we'll need to help countries like yemen, libya, somalia, provide for their own security and help allies who take the fight to terrists have we have in mali and where necessary through a range of capables we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to america. ( applause )

now, as we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. that's why my administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable, legal and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism efforts. throughout we have kept congress fully informed of it and i recognize in our democracy no one should just take my word for it that we're doing things the right way. in the months ahead i will continue to engage congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances. but that our efforts are even more transparent to the american people and to the world. (slight applause) of course our challenges don't end with al